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| Distribution | Native to the Caribbean (e.g., Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. John, Tortola) to northern South America (Colombia). | Native to northeastern Australia; naturalized in Hawaii, New Zealand, and southwestern Australia. | Widely distributed in Southeast Asia (Malesia region: Malaysia, Indonesia including Borneo and Sumatra, Myanmar, Indochina). | Native to Indochina (Cambodia, Thailand) and Southeast Asia (Malay Peninsula, Indonesia including Borneo and Sumatra). |
| Habitat | Wet tropical forests, moist clearings, open banks, hillsides, landslide areas, secondary forest glades; low to high elevations. | Forest margins, open coastal areas, gullies, rainforests, roadsides, streamcourses; prefers high humidity and moist soils. | Disturbed/open spaces in humid forests, subtropical areas; lowlands to mountains (up to 1,700 m). | Forest fringes, open areas; lowlands to mountains (up to 1,200 m or more). |
| Trunk Height | Up to 12 m. | Up to 12 m. | Up to 10 m. | Up to 10 m. |
| Trunk Diameter | 10-15 cm. | Up to 15 cm. | Up to 20 cm. | Up to 13 cm. |
| Trunk Characteristics | Slender, often patterned with scars from fallen fronds; covered in scales or trichomes. | Slender, hard, coarse, with circular scars; fast-growing. | Straight, without branches; thick fibers (up to 0.5 m at base, decreasing upward); unique motifs (e.g., batik-like) when peeled. | Often curved, with many branches; rarely has fibers on the trunk. |
| Frond (Lamina) Length | Up to 3 m; bipinnate-pinnatifid. | Up to 3-4 m; tripinnate, lacy, spreading crown. | Up to 3.5 m. | Up to 2.1 m. |
| Stipe (Leaf Stalk) | Covered in scales. | Sturdy, with spines. | 60 cm long, sturdy, big and sharp spines (up to 0.5 cm). | Over 60 cm long, sturdy, blunt spines (less than 0.5 cm). |
| Sori (Spore Clusters) | On veins, under fronds. | Indusiate, on veins. | 6-8 pairs, large, under leaves. | 5-7 pairs, small, under leaves. |
| Other Notes | Pantropical genus type species; colonizes disturbed areas quickly. | Popular ornamental; invasive potential in non-native areas; thrives in dappled shade. | Versatile uses: ornamental, handicrafts (e.g., flower pots from trunk), growing medium; more fibrous and straight than C. latebrosa. | Mainly used as growing medium (e.g., for orchids) due to less dense fibers; less versatile than C. contaminans. |